User blog:Wassboss/Age is but a Number: The Stranger vs Bill
Monster Hunting is usually a young man's game but in today's battle we've got two warriors who prove that OAP really stands for One Awesome Person. Despite their age these two pensioners are capable of all kinds of ass kicking and are showing the youngsters that just because you're getting on in years doesn't mean you can't send some ugly sons of bitches right back to hell. Step aside all your whippersnappers as; The Stranger: Hermit living on Blackwood Mountain, dedicating his life to hunting the Wendigo. goes up against; Bill Overbeck: Retired Vietnam war veteran, thrust into action again during the Green Flu Virus. Who is deadliest. The Stranger The Stranger '''is a hermit who lives up on Blackwood Mountain in an old chapel. His grandfather was hunted Wendigo in the mountains until he was killed by a particularly powerful one called Makkapitew. The Stranger took up his mantle and managed to subdue and trap a number of Wendigo in an abandoned sanatorium but Makkapitew continued to elude him despite his best efforts to track it down. |-|Melee = '''Machete Length: 1.5 foot Weight: 1 lb Steel |-|Sidearm = Colt Python Round: .357 Magnum Range: 68 metres Ammo: 6 Rounds Double-Action |-|Main Firearm = Winchester Model 1200 12 Gauge Ammo: 6 Rounds Weight: 6.5 lbs Pump Action |-|Special = Flamethrower Range: 50-80 Metres Continuous spray of flames. Bill Overbeck Bill '''is a retired solider who served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. While it hospital for an operation on an injury sustained during his service he first encountered the Infected after one of the nurses turned and killed the rest of the operating staff. Bill was able to fend her off and make it back home where he donned his old military clothing, ready to go into battle once more. |-|Melee = '''Combat Knife Length: 8 Inches Weight: 0.9 lb Steel |-|Sidearm = Magnum Round: .44 Magnum Range: 50 metres Ammo: 8 Rounds Semi-Automatic |-|Main Firearm = Shotgun 12 Gauge Ammo: 8 Rounds Weight: 7 lbs Pump Action |-|Special = Molotov Cocktail Lit by flaming rag. Shrapnel & Fire Damage. X Factors Physicality: The Stranger=80/Bill=65 Both these men are surprisingly fit for their ages and are able to keep up with their much younger allies. However the Stranger takes a clear edge because of his more active lifestyle hunting the superhumanly strong and quick Wendigo and if his diary implies that he's fought up close and personal with them and managed to come out of top. Bill retired long ago and has only been thrust into combat with the infected recently and combined with his dodgy knee his rating takes a big hit. Experience: The Stranger=75/Bill=85 The Stranger has been hunting the Wendigo on Blackwood Mountain for decades which is much longer than the couple of weeks Bill has been fighting the Infected. However Bill also has two tours of Vietnam under his belt and the Infected are much more varied and some such as the Tank or the Witch are just as deadly if not deadlier than the Wendigo. Not shitting on the Stranger cause fighting Wendigo alone and trapping most of them is damn impressive but he specialises in one particular type of opponent. Stealth: The Stranger=85/Bill=60 As a Wendigo's eye sight is based on movement the Stranger has to take great care to be as stealthy as possible and he knows how to stay hidden while tracking his quarry. Stealth is rarely needed in Left 4 Dead and so Bill relies on it much less, mostly just wading into infected zones guns blazing. Brutality: The Stranger=70/Bill=80 Both the Stranger and Bill are grizzled old veterans who've been fighting for years and I doubt either of them has many qualms about killing to protect themselves. Where they differ is in their approach. As killing a Wendigo releases their spirit to possess another person the Stranger has to show restraint to capture them rather than killing them. Bill meanwhile doesn't have to worry about that when fighting the infected as once they're dead that's it. Voting System/Notes Battle takes place on Blackwood Mountain. In order to be counted in full, votes must be at least 5 lines long or have been done in an edge format. Anything less than 5 lines but which is competently argued and thought out will be counted as a half vote. I will inform anybody if their vote is considered a half vote and allow them to amend it to bring it up to a full point. Irrelevant votes will not be counted at all. I reserve the right to award a vote as half or discount it entirely for reason not mentioned here if I feel it is applicable. Battle Walking in silence as the biting cold nips at any piece of exposed skin Bill leads the way as the L4D Survivors trudge through the snowy forest of Blackwood Mountain. The group comes across a river, the black murky water lashing violently against the riverbed. Bill points to a fallen tree which has created a makeshift bridge across the water. “We can cross here,” he says gruffly. “I dunno Bill it doesn’t look awfully stable,” Francis retorts eyeing the tree suspiciously. “We don’t really have another option; I don’t want to spend any more time out in the cold than we have to. So man up and cross the damn river,” Bill replies annoyed. “Well I ain’t going first,” Francis continues. “Hell I’ll go first if it will shut you both up.” Zoe holsters her pistol and carefully manoeuvres across the tree trunk, jumping off on the other side of the river. Louis is the next one across leaving just Francis and Bill. Bill indicates for Francis to go first and he reluctantly hands him his shotgun as he steps tentatively onto the trunk. He slowly begins to edge over it and is about half the way across when he feels it begin to shift underneath him. Panicking he starts to move quicker which only unsettles the tree more, dislodging one end of the tree. As it begins to sink into the river he makes a leap of faith and is grabbed by Zoey and Louis on the other side and they pull him up onto more stable ground. “Holy shit. I told you that thing was dangerous Bill,” Francis shouts angrily. “What are we going to do now? You’re stuck on that side and we’re all over here.” “I’ll have to find another place to cross. You three continue onto the lodge house we saw on the map.” “We can’t just leave you out here Bill, what if Hunter or a Smoker gets you. You’d be a gonner.” “I’ll have to take that risk. Besides we haven’t seen any infected for days now, I don’t think they like the cold much. There’s probably a bridge or another fallen tree somewhere along this river.” “Can you at least throw me back my shotgun?” Francis asks. “No can do, I’m going to need this more than you.” Francis looks annoyed which makes Bill smile. “Enough arguing, I’ll catch up with you guys soon.” Bill starts walking downhill alongside the riverbed while the other three carry onto the lodge house. ---- “Jesus Christ how far does this river go?!” Bill mutters under his breath. After 20 minutes of following the river he hasn’t found a single crossing point. He stops to gain his bearings and his ears prickle as he hears the sound of crunching footsteps in the snow. Instinctively he ducks down and glances around to determine the location of the noise. A figure enters his field of view, a man dressed in a thick green parka coat, wearing tinted goggles on his eyes and with a bandanna pulled up over his mouth and nose. Strapped across his back is a bulky metal canister which Bill recognises instantly as a Flamethrower canister. “He looks like trouble” he thinks and silently thanks his luck of being hidden behind a thick pine tree. ---- The Stranger looks around the area carefully, standing perfectly still in case a Wendigo turns up. He could’ve sworn he heard people’s voices but knowing the Wendigo’s tricks he can’t be sure. For some reason his attention is drawn to a particular area of the forest which seems to be unnaturally quiet. Years on the mountain have taught the Stranger that when even nature falls silent that something foul is afoot. Turning, slowly, to point his Flamethrower towards the area he hears the unmistakably sound of something shifting its weight, causing the snow to crackle underneath. “Trying to get stealthy with me are you?” he whispers and sends forth a stream of flames, expecting to hear the hellish shriek of a Wendigo. Instead he hears loud cursing, followed by an old man dressed in military gear bursting out of the foliage. ---- Cursing his sudden change of luck, Bill goes out all guns blazing and empties his shotgun clip at mysterious man to cover his escape. Working quickly to reload his shotgun he feels a burst of heat as another blast from the Flamethrower roars behind him. He circles around with his shotgun and takes pot shots but each time finds a storm of fire to be the reply. Fast running out of ammo he realises that he’s going to need to do something about that pesky Flamethrower before he gets burnt to a crisp. Ducking down behind a boulder he loads up the last eight shells of his shotgun and pumps it as more flames lick at the rock. Peeking over once the stream has finished he sees the Stranger has swapped fire for bullets and is now clutching a Winchester shotgun, the nozzle of the flamethrower dangling by his side. Finally seeing a chance to get a proper shot in, Bill fires off several rounds as the Stranger backtracks to a rocky outcrop out of range. Realising he will have to get closer Bill creeps out from his own cover and gets about halfway to the outcrop before getting the feeling he’s walking right into a trap. Sliding behind a tree his instinct proves right as a barrage of pellets graze the trunk, snapping several branches in the process. Returning fire he finds he is still way out of range and has to step out to find more cover. Again narrowly missing having his head blown off he finally manages to get within range to actually do some damage, only to find that he only has one shell left. “Shit” he mutters, annoyed at himself for not paying more attention to his ammo count. He switches to his trusty magnum just as the Stranger pops out from cover and sends another couple of shells at him. Returning fire with the Magnum, the powerful shots chip the surface of the rocks but the Stranger is much too quick and manages not to get hit. Bill tries to keep an eye on him to see where he shoots from next but nonetheless surprised when the man pops up much closer than before. A bullet tears through his side and he grimaces in pain, hiding out of the line of fire and touching the wound with his hand, coming away with a sickly red colour on his palm. “I can’t keep up like this,” he ponders. He knows he has to get out of this situation and regroup somewhere else but he needs a distraction. Reaching for a bottle of whiskey in his pocket he takes a sip to warm him up a bit and an idea suddenly hits him. Jamming a handkerchief into the bottle neck he uses a lighter to ignite the other end and tosses it at where he last saw the mysterious man... ---- “It’s a good thing I managed to hit him there. That was my last shotgun shell,” the Stranger thinks as he draws his Pistol. The sound of a smashing bottle echoes through the area and flames begin to form but the Stranger isn’t worried as he’s already moved away from the location of the projectile. Peering over the cover he sees his opponent hobbling away and tries to take a shot but finds the flames are preventing him from getting a good view. He vaults over the outcrop and gives chase and spots Bill as he heads down into the mine-shaft. “Oh fuck,” he snaps and hastens his pace. The Wendigo love to hide out in the mines and if he could do without another possible person for them to turn. That and he has weapons and ammo stored down there which this guy could use against him. Clutching his weapon tightly he checks though each and every area, every possible hiding place but he can’t seem to find his foe anywhere. “Listen here. You can’t keep running about through this mine,” he says changing tactic. “There are things on this mountain, things you wouldn’t believe. If I don’t find you they will and I can tell you right now it’ll be much worse if they get you.” Getting no reply he continues to search the mines but to no avail. In his hurry he forgets about one small crack, just large enough to fit a person inside. Too late he hears the whoosh of air and he can do little but turn as knife is plunged into his stomach. Bill drags the knife down and yanks it out, stabbing him one more in the chest. The Stranger starts to fall but Bill gently helps lower him down and lays him on the cavern floor. “I’ve see some pretty messed up things myself.” The Stranger looks up at Bill. “I fought in Nam’, saw some of the worst things imaginable. Describing it as Hell would be putting it lightly. I saw people dying all around me horrible deaths, deaths no man no matter how wicked should suffer. But these weren’t wicked men most of them were kids and I wasn’t much older. And then; just when I thought that Hell was behind me the Green Flu Virus hit and now we’re in a Hell that makes Nam’ look like nothing. I don’t know what is on this mountain but whoever they are I’m sure it can’t be worse than what I’ve suffered through.” Despite his grave injuries the Stranger can’t help but chuckle. “You’re one tough bastard you know that old man. I sure as hell hope you’re tough enough to deal with Makkapitew.” With those parting words the Stranger breaths his last breath. Bill can’t help but feel regret, whoever this man was he felt like a kindred spirit, someone else who understood the horrors of this world. His mind wonders to those last words, what on earth is a Makkapitew. Shrugging to himself he heads back out of the mines and trudges back towards the riverbank. Hearing more footsteps in the snow he raises his Magnum before realising that it is Zoey, Louis and Francis. “What are you guys doing here? You were supposed to go to the lodge?” “We couldn’t just leave you out here alone Bill.” Louis says cheerfully as he hands Bill a spare shotgun. “There was a bridge just over there,” he says pointing to a spot just a few places from where Bill first met the stranger. Cursing his luck once more he is about to say something when an ear splitting screech pierces the air as a large, pale-skinned creature bursts from the undergrowth. “Oh my god. What is that thing?!” Zoey shouts in shock. “Makkapitew” Bill says smiling and pumps his weapon ready for battle. Winner: Bill Final Verdict Bill won this battle mostly because of his better experience in combating a human opponent whereas the Stranger only ever fought against Wendigo and was therefore too specialised to deal with a different type of opponent. Slightly less importantly but still relevant to the battle he also had marginal advantages in terms of his firearms which made the difference in a gunfight. Category:Blog posts